Significant longplayers from yesteryear
29 May 2026
Band: ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN
Album: HEAVEN UP HERE
Their 2nd one, released on 30 May 1981,
today 45 years ago (45? Sounds unreal)
It peaked at #10 in the UK, and was their first LP
to chart on the US Billboard 200, at #1984.
In the liner notes for the 2003 remastered version of the album, lead singer
Ian McCulloch said he constantly had The Velvet Underground‘s What Goes On
in the back of his mind.
He also stated that the band wanted to record a soul album. In the same liner notes, bassist Les Pattinson said that the band was often lazy and hence had hired rehearsal space at the Ministry in Liverpool.
He said this made them work harder and develop “language” in the rhythm. McCulloch considers Heaven Up Here to be guitarist Will Sergeant‘s album because he was bossy
and a control freak during the recording.
NME wrote: “One of the most superior articulations of ‘rock’ form in living memory.”
TUTV: One of the (many) flabbergasting albums from one of my
all-time favorite bands (on record and on stage). Masterpiece.
KEY SINGLE
ALBUM
